


Don't leave

by emmadilla



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Reaction to 13x17
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-09
Updated: 2018-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-20 12:16:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14260776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmadilla/pseuds/emmadilla
Summary: Reaction one-shot to the end of 13x17 ... Gabriel and Sam are finally reunited.





	Don't leave

**Author's Note:**

> So, yeah, I watched the episode and it tore my heart out and stomped it into pieces. I wasn't sure if I was going to do a fic on it or not, but then I saw a wonderful piece of fanart and I just had to.
> 
> (I have contacted the artist and asked if I could posted it here as well and link her page, and if she does then I'll update the fic and post it)

The hostility and slight fear that had blossomed in Sam when Ketch had stepped out around the corner turned into a gut punch as that emotional rollercoaster dropped once that small, dirty figure was pulled out from the darkness and sat at the table. His hair was greasy, his clothes and body was filthy, and Sam’s stomach turned to see that his lips had been sewn shut. But there was no denying it. It was Gabriel. He was _alive_ , somehow. It seemed impossible, he’d seen the wings burned into the floor himself. Then again … he’d also seen Cas’ wings burned onto the ground outside that house, and he’d come back. Granted, under different circumstances, but still … somehow, some way, the archangel had come back. Or, possibly, never died at all. Was it ever possible to know?

 

Ketch explained where he’d found him, being drained of his grace by Asmodeus, abused and beaten and kept in a cage in hell. His stomach twisted, the results of his confinement plain to see. The once confident swagger of the archangel was completely gone, replaced by a trembling, whimpering creature. _What happened to you, Gabriel?_

 

The former Men of Letters agent handed over a vial of grace that they needed for the spell, along with the archangel blade, something that would come in handy once they caught up with Lucifer again. He’d brought them all three things in the hopes to call a truce, to beg for a place to stay in the bunker. He was somewhat reluctant to agree, despite the peace offerings, but Dean agreed to it. Sam would always be suspicious of Ketch, and he suspected Dean would as well, but Ketch’s real and present fear of Asmodeus seemed real. Realer still because of what he’d done as he’d left, taking his toys with him.The Prince of Hell would no doubt be on the war path after he discovered what had happened, but hopefully by that point there would be a plan in place to take him out. Once they got Jack and Mary back, of course. That was the most pressing matter at the moment.

 

At least, that was what Sam had thought. That was what he’d been thinking this whole time. But suddenly, seeing Gabriel sitting there … something inside him felt like it broke. He still wanted to go get Jack and his mom, of course, but he just … he had to make sure Gabriel would be okay.

 

He wasn’t sure the archangel would really be okay with someone getting near him with a sharp object, but he sat still for Sam, allowing him to start cutting away the stitches that had held his mouth together for who knows how long. His amber brown eyes looked at Sam, almost like they were eating a hole through his very soul. His imagination was running wild with possibilities of what Gabriel had endured, each one somehow worse than the one before. They were interrupted only once, when Dean went to leave with Ketch for the other universe to rescue the wayward Winchesters. Sam wasn’t very happy about Dean going with Ketch. Truth be told, he hoped Dean would find a way to shake him and leave him there. That would be perfectly fine with the younger Winchester. But, that did leave him in a bit of a position with Castiel. How was he ever going to explain this to the seraph?

 

He sighed internally as he pondered Cas’ reaction. Until then, however, he had Gabriel to concentrate on. And, if Sam couldn’t go with Dean, he was more than happy to stay and tend to the archangel. He’d known Gabriel to be strong and resilient, and to see him in such a state was … startling, to say the least. As he took up the knife again to finish removing the last of the stitches, it suddenly hit him … exactly how long had Asmodeus held him? If Gabriel hadn’t really died, only injured, if the Prince of Hell had scooped him up fairly soon after the confrontation with Lucifer … Sam did the mental arithmetic and his face visibly blanched as he realized that, if Gabriel had been in hell since then, it would have been eight years. Eight years consisted of ninety-six months, and given that each month felt like ten years, that was …

 

Nine hundred and sixty years. If he had been in hell that whole time, it amounted to nine hundred and sixty years. Almost one thousand years full of abuse and neglect, horrific things that Sam didn’t want to think about and stomach-churning things that crossed his mind.

 

He hadn’t realized it until his vision blurred, but his chest was tight and his throat burned with unshed tears. Sam blinked them away and saw that Gabriel’s eyes were just as glassy. So many things passed between them in that moment, so many things unsaid, things that maybe would go unsaid forever. But in that moment, their comfortable silence was enough. Gabriel reached forward, tentatively, and cupped Sam’s cheek. Sam wasn’t sure who exactly it was supposed to comfort, him or the archangel, but a slight sense of relief did seep into his bones at the gesture. It meant that, despite every unspeakable thing that had happened to him, Gabriel was comfortable with Sam. And Sam was incredibly humbled at the knowledge, that such a powerful being sought and found comfort with _him_ , Sam Winchester, the true vessel of Lucifer, the demon blood addict who had kick-started the apocalypse. Sure they’d stopped it, but … if he hadn’t been so full of himself, so blinded by what he couldn’t even bother to try and see …

 

All other thoughts went rushing out of his head as the tears started to flow down the archangel’s cheeks. Once the first couple fell, it was like the dam broke, tears streaming down both their faces. Once the last stitch was pulled out, they stared at each other, still silent, neither one moving, neither one hardly breathing. The air was heavy, but not with tension, with emotion. So much unsaid between them, so few real chances, and yet somehow it felt like they had inexplicably become intertwined at some point. Maybe it was their first go round with Gabriel playing the part of the trickster, maybe it was the Mystery Spot, maybe it was when the archangel tried to get the Winchesters to play their parts, who really knew when it happened, but it had.

 

Blood slowly dripped from the newly aggravated holes in the archangel’s lips, and Sam thought to get up to get a clean cloth and water to wash it away, some gauze to press against it, but as soon as he shifted to get up, Gabriel’s hand flew from his cheek to his arm, gripping with a tight intensity that almost took Sam’s breath away. Softly, in a voice that cracked and broke, Gabriel spoke his first words.

 

“Don’t leave.”

 

Sam couldn’t suppress the quiver that ran through his lip and his swallowed hard as he shook his head. “I won’t. I promise.” Tears filled his eyes again as he added, “I won’t ever leave.”

 

The archangel nodded slowly, silent tears still coursing down his cheeks as he leaned forward and pulled himself into Sam’s chest. Sam was hesitant, not wanting to hurt him, but he carefully circled his arms around the angel’s vessel and held him. Gabriel’s shoulders shook as Sam’s fingers slowly, gently carded through his hair, smoothing the greasy locks. Gabriel had been through unspeakable horror, but he was safe now. Sam would make sure of it.

 

Asmodeus would pay.


End file.
